The Scent of Blood
by Chibi-Chichan
Summary: A virgin's blood is an acquired taste. And Hidan had always had a morbid fascination for it.
1. Innocence

**The Scent of Blood**

A virgin's blood is an acquired taste. And Hidan had always had a morbid fascination for it.

A/N: Erm... yes, a crack shipping fic... XD I was watching a very lovely AMV recently that made me fall in love with HidaSaku so here I am, writing my first fanfiction for it. I may just put the rating higher in later chapters as this is quite a dark fic (though, I think my humourous side always manages to come through) but we'll see how we go, yes? Also, this chapter has scenes that **go in a different order to the manga**, so yeah. D: Am I the only one too lazy to check if Mr and Mrs Haruno have names? Oh well...

...

The sound of her parents bickering was something she had become accustomed to, to the point where she could sit calmly at the table as they had a "family meal" together whilst her mother and father yelled across the table at one another.

A 10 year old Sakura Haruno had learned to ignore it all.

It was the same thing she was forced to deal with everyday, so it was no different when her father decided to take her with them on the mission the Haruno parents had been put on as a family under-cover in another country. Knowing that it was better to obey than to argue with her father (arguing was only something she did with her mum who she had learnt to retort from), she followed behind her parents as they journeyed to the country where they were to complete their one week mission, in a village she overhead from her parents' conversations to be a Hidden Village of Hot Springs.

"Why did you bring her?" she heard her mother hiss ahead of her to her father.

"It's better that we be a family under cover rather than a couple alone as it could possibly draw more suspicion towards us. You didn't think of that, did you?" her father answered back in a cold tone.

By this time Sakura was no longer paying attention, knowing that she would simply be listening to another fight between her parents. Sometimes, she would feel some sort of resentment towards her parents for this, for putting a child in such a poor family situation.

The breeze blew gently against her hair and she raised her gaze to the view of the countryside before them, a peaceful sight in her jade-coloured eyes. She raised her arms to the sky and stretched widely, wondering how long this moment of peace may last, her eyes turning up to the azure sky above, a small smile lighting her face.

Even with her parents arguing ahead of her, she could smell the peaceful freedom that beckoned them, that awaited them at the village where they were to be situated in.

_And in a hot spring village,_ Sakura mused, her smile widening at the thought of soaking in a steamy hot spring.

She was not, however, aware of the horrors that could possibly await her in the coming days.

Turning the door knob and pushing open the door to the room that she would be occupying for the next few days, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief that they had finally reached their destination and slowly walked over to the bed that awaited her, dropping her backpack on the floor along the way.

"Sakura, make sure to pack away your things properly!"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she flopped onto her bed. "Yes, mum," she replied into her pillow, too exhausted from their trip to do as her mum wanted.

"I'll check if you've done it properly later!"

"Yes mum," Sakura sighed, sinking into her bed comfortably, too relaxed to get back up again.

_I'll just sleep for a little while_, she thought to herself as sleep slowly washed over her and claimed her.

…

It was the next morning by the time Sakura had woken up and she groggily pulled herself up into a sitting position in bed, yawning widely as she stretched and rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she pulled the blankets around her away and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She noticed that her things had been packed away and mentally decided to thank her mother later for doing that.

She ran a hand through her shoulder-length locks as she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wondered what she could possibly do today. Usually, she would go to her kunoichi classes and hang out with Ino but seeing as she was in a village far from Konoha, there was no possible way she could do that.

Having brushed her teeth and combed out her bubblegum-coloured hair, she told her parents that she was going to head out for some fresh air before she headed out of the door, the sunlight of the morning greeting her warmly.

She sighed and breathed in deeply as she walked along the pathway away from her temporary house, running her hand along the tall grass and flowers that grew in the field alongside the pathway. She paused, her hand still against one of the flowers and then decided to change her route, stepping through the fields and pushing through the grass and flowers that reached up to her chest. The field was so dense that at one moment she stepped on a rather strange piece of ground and could've sworn she heard the earth groan under her.

"What the fuck are you doing?" yelled a voice from below her, making her jump.

Perturbed, Sakura gulped and slowly lowered her gaze to the grass below her, wondering whether she were going insane and the ground really was talking to her. However, to her surprise and horror, she found a silver-haired teenaged boy laying sprawled eagle under her foot; surprised because she wasn't sure why he would be lying under her foot and horrified because he was currently looking up her skirt.

"AGH!" the teen cried as Sakura hurriedly stomped on his face and quickly began to run away, pushing hurriedly through the field, suddenly wishing that she had stuck to the road. "HEY!" she heard him yell, as loud rustling came from somewhere close behind her. He was chasing her.

Adrenaline pumping through her veins, Sakura pushed herself harder, not wanting to be caught by him. She had heard about people like him from her parents who would warn her not to go anywhere near these strangers (well, strangers in general that was) and almost felt the urge to cry as she heard him panting from behind her as he attempted to catch her. Regret, fear and horror seized her as she felt his hand close around her upper arm and pull her roughly back, spinning her around to face him.

"Fucking moron!" he shouted, his brows pulled down in anger as his grip tightened on her arm. "First you step on me and then you fucking stomp on my face!" he yelled, shaking her slightly.

As he said this, Sakura couldn't help but feel satisfaction and pride as she looked at the shoeprint marked on the middle of his face.

As if her pride at her actions radiated off of her, the teen slammed his hand into her throat, choking her. "Don't make me fucking kill you," he breathed warningly.

Tears welled up in Sakura's eyes from the pain and she coughed, struggling against his hold, her small hands attempting to pry his off of her throat. "I-I d-didn't see y-you! I'm s-sorry!" she choked out, too afraid of dying to care about her pride or dignity.

The teen's eyes narrowed and there was a tense moment of silence. Slowly, he loosened his hold on her throat and pulled his hand away. "Pfft, I shouldn't be wasting time on piss brains like you," he grumbled as he turned away, shoving his hands into his pocket as he prepared to walk away. "Jashin would be mad if I'm late again anyway."

Completely shaken, Sakura fell to her knees, her hand touching her throat where he had gripped it painfully hard and swallowed thickly, tears streaming down her face as she realised how close he had been to completely cutting off her air supply.

"By the way," he called over his shoulder, "you have a bad taste in panties."

Despite her horror at the near death experience, Sakura's cheeks burned rouge as she stared at his back incredulously. She had the sudden urge to chase after him and slap him. Yet the pain on her neck was still present and she remained where she was, watching his retreating back. She did not move until he completely vanished from her sight and she deemed it safe to leave the fields, running hastily home, deciding to never go too far from the house for the rest of the week.

She returned home and raced to her bedroom to avoid bumping into her parents who would undoubtedly ask her questions if they saw that she had been crying. She shut the door behind herself and leaned against it, her heart still racing from the adrenaline rush and slowly sank to the floor, hugging her knees.

For some reason, she couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her underwear.

"Stupid weirdo!" she sobbed, pulling her skirt securely around her.

She also decided that day to always wear shorts under her skirts.

...

They had only been in the village for three days and during that time, Sakura would make sure to listen in on her parent's conversations as they would often exchange new information they had obtained during their time out. During these times, Sakura discovered the reason they had been brought out to this village.

There had been a serious issue recently with a cult, who consisted of a group of people who worshipped an evil god named Jashin and it had been confirmed that a series of murders had been caused by this cult, with investigators finding the mark of the Jashin god at every crime scene.

However, anyone who investigated the case or attempted to speak up against the cult were brutally murdered the following night and the entire village lived in fear of their lives and thus the village leader had called for assistance from all the villages it was alliances to, yet, no village except Konoha was willing to help them.

The Harunos had then been selected on this secret mission to gather enough information about the Jashin cult and send for back up whenever necessary ,which was currently waiting for a call in the neighbouring village.

Sakura now understood the danger that her parents and herself was placed in and was careful to not go to far from the house whenever she went out for some fresh air to firstly, avoid being caught by anyone who may torture the information about the mission out of her and to secondly, avoid seeing the silver-haired teen from two days before.

...

It was around evening when Sakura's father returned home, shrugging off the jacket he had been wearing and sitting himself wearily into his seat at the dining table.

Recently, dinner became filled with quiet exchanges about the latest information gathered and Sakura secretly was glad that there was something to occupy her parents to stop them from arguing.

"If the Jashin cult try anything, our sources will make sure to alert us," her father said before guzzling down some water. He placed his cup back down. "They know how much danger their lives are in as well, so they're only able to help us because of the protection we're offering them," he explained, Sakura's mother nodding in agreement.

Suddenly, there was pounding on their front door and the Haruno family froze with both Mr and Mrs Haruno looking at each other and Sakura's father jerking his head in the direction of the door silently.

Understanding, Mrs Haruno rose from her seat and walked to the door, opening it cautiously before throwing it back open wide as a wounded man fell onto their living room floor, blood splattering around him on the carpet.

"Mr Haroshima!" Sakura's mother gasped as she got onto her knees to check his vital signs.

Both Sakura and her father left their seats, rushing to the injured man's side.

"Haruno..." Haroshima rasped, reaching out and grabbing Mr Haruno's shirt as he knelt over him. "The Jashin c-cult... h-hurry..." he gasped before screaming out as if he were stabbed, a fresh wound opening up in his chest. He let out one last struggling breath before life left his eyes and he lay limp on the floor.

"F-father..." Sakura began weakly, her legs shaking as she stared down, horrified at the dead man before her.

"Sakura! You stay here with your mother!" Mr Haruno ordered as he ran to the room he shared with Sakura's mother, hastily grabbing a few ninja tools before running out of the house. "Lock the doors!" he shouted over his shoulder as he ran and Mrs Haruno quickly obeyed, shutting the door and locking it before rushing past Sakura and locking the back door.

Numb and terrified, Sakura remained where she was, staring down at the lifeless man before she was ushered away by her mother. Her mother carried her to her bedroom and closed the door behind them, sinking to the ground as she held her daughter close.

"Whatever I say, you do, understand?" her mother breathed and Sakura realised that she too was frightened as she heard her mother strain to keep her voice levelled.

Sakura nodded mutely, unable to speak and her mother let go before crashing was heard from their living room.

"Stay in here!" her mother ordered in a hurried whisper before leaving the room quickly, shutting the door securely behind herself.

Sakura could hear muffled voices from behind her door and although she was terrified, the thought of her parents dying drove her to open her bedroom door with trembling fingers, her heart beating painfully fast in her chest as she struggled to breathe from her suffocating fear.

The splattering of blood greeted her and her eyes widened in horror at the sight of her father defending her mother despite being slashed to ribbons.

"Hah! You're tough Mr Haruno!" laughed one of the men who were attacking her parents as he sliced himself, a similar wound then opening up in her father's side.

"FATHER!" Sakura screamed as she ran forward, catching her falling father and crumbling under his weight.

"SAKURA!" her mother screamed, hastily pulling her father off of her. "GET OUT OF HERE!" she bellowed as Sakura pushed herself back up off of the floor.

"B-but...!"

"Don't let the little girl escape!" ordered the person who appeared to be the leader of the cult.

Sakura's mother cursed and swiftly dodged a scythe aimed at her. "GET OUT OF HERE, PLEASE SAKURA!" her mother cried pleadingly before narrowly avoiding another scythe swung at her. "GET OUT OF HERE SAKURA, NOW!"

With her mother's pleas ringing in her ears, Sakura quickly ran back to her bedroom and grabbed the one kunai she was allowed to carry with her at her age and rushed to her window, opening it and jumping off it, knowing it wasn't safe to leave through any of the doors to their house.

She could see it even from far away, that there were Jashin cult members slaughtering people across the entire village and her fear drove her to run faster even though she had no idea where she was running to.

Her footsteps echoed about her as she ran, panting hard, heart pounding painfully against her ribcage.

She could hear the screams of people dying behind her, slowly fading as she raced further away, but never ending.

Tears streamed down her face and her breaths came in quick, sharp, successive breaths, her lungs burning with the need for oxygen as she sobbed, her muscles cramping and screaming for rest yet she knew she couldn't stop.

Even though she knew she wouldn't have been able to do anything, she hadn't wanted to leave her parents behind when the Jashin cult had arrived at their household. She hadn't wanted to turn tail and leave but what could she have done?

_What could I have done?_ Sakura asked as she sobbed, more tears cascading down her face.

Eventually, her feet led her to the field and she was pushing through the grass and flowers, struggling to get away, the only thing driving her now was fear.

She had to get out of the village. She had to find her way back to Konoha.

Her foot became caught in some grass and she tripped, her hands instinctively thrown out to cushion her fall, the kunai falling from her hand. She didn't get back up. She couldn't do it. She was crippled with fear and horror as the image of her dying father and the man named Haroshima would not leave her mind.

She let out a sob before quickly clamping her hand over her mouth.

The sound of rustling resounded throughout the night air.

Someone had come to kill her.

And she knew she wouldn't be able to get up fast enough to run away.

More tears ran down her face and she pressed her hands over her eyes, too horrified to see anymore, wishing that she weren't here, that she hadn't left Konoha at all.

The rustling stopped and she sensed a figure looming above her and prayed that he wouldn't prolong her death.

"Hey," called a familiar voice as someone crouched beside her huddled form. "What the fuck are you doing out here?"

Sakura slowly pulled her hands away, her tear-filled eyes meeting the silver-haired teen's crimson ones. She opened her mouth but found she couldn't speak. More tears poured down her face and she pushed herself up onto her elbows, reaching out and grabbing the hem of his shirt.

He watched her warily as she inched closer to him, a look of desperation and fear on her face. He could say that it was somewhat amusing to watch her crawl towards him, a hand holding onto his shirt as she struggled to speak, never-ending tears pouring down her face. Noticing that she was covered in blood, something in his chest burned.

The sight of blood was something he relished.

"F-father..." she spoke hoarsely, her grip tightening on his shirt. "M-mother..."

"Shh," whispered the teen as he grabbed her wrist, bringing her quivering hand up to his lips where he licked the blood off of the palm of her hand. He paused before tasting the blood once more, his tongue tickling the young Haruno's hand. "Someone else's blood," he stated rather than questioned, his crimson eyes piercing Sakura's.

She simply stared at him mutely, numb as she lowered her eyes, unable to look away from the necklace he wore.

It was there. She recognised it from the photographs her parents had of it, taken at the various crime scenes.

The symbol of Jashin, hanging from the chain around his neck.

He would kill her after he had his fun, she was sure of it.

The teen watched her carefully as he raised her hand up to his lips once more, knowing that she had noticed the Jashin symbol.

He knew exactly who she was. The daughter of the Harunos who had intended to interfere with their cult.

His tongue ran over her wrist and he wondered who's blood it was as it tasted somewhat older. A person's blood loss its fresh taste after they had lost their innocence, it was something that he had made sure to take important note of.

It amused him to sense the fear radiating off of her after she had realised exactly what he was a part of. Yet what amused him more was the fact that she had instantly recognised the Jashin symbol. For someone from outside of the village and of her age to be knowledgeable of their cult was something he found rather amusing.

After a few moments of silence that was filled with the sound of him licking the blood off her hand, he drew back, never releasing her wrist. "Your mother's quite a fighter."

Instantly, Sakura's fist was thrown forward towards his face which he swiftly dodged. "Man! You're fucking feisty!" he laughed, smirking at her reaction. He dodged another swing aimed at his head. Reaching forward, he grabbed her face one-handed, his thumb and fingers pressing down against her cheeks. "Look, I'm offering you a fucking chance here. I'm bored of staying in this shithole and I've heard of a wondering group of S-rank criminals who I'm thinking of joining. So I'm wondering whether or not I should bring you out of this village safely with me or leave you here to be slaughtered by the other Jashin worshippers." His words caused her to stop. He smirked. "So, what do you say, Haruno?"

There was a tense moment of silence until Sakura gripped the wrist of the hand that held her face. "What are you getting out of it?" she asked through gritted teeth.

The teen stared at her before his smirk widened. "You're bright for a little kid."

And with that, he leaned forward and brushed her hair away from her neck before leaning towards her, pausing, his mouth poised near the side of her neck. Her breath had quickened and he could feel her trembling as he hadn't released her wrist-it nearly made him laugh. He breathed onto her neck and she shivered in response, amusing him further.

She hadn't moved away yet. She knew this was what he wanted out of it and he knew this was her silently saying that she was willing to leave the village with him.

Without warning, he bit into her neck and Sakura let out a small scream that she tried to suppress as he bit hard enough to draw blood. He sucked at her neck, relishing the taste of young and pure blood.

Sakura gritted her teeth, more tears falling from her eyes as she closed them, feeling sick to her stomach at what she was willing to do to escape the horrors of the village.

"Fuck," he muttered as he pulled back slightly. "You have a fucking crazy scent to your blood," he breathed before leaning in once more to drink up some more of her blood. His grip on her wrist tightened as he sucked more urgently on her neck.

After a minute or so, the Jashin worshipper forced himself to pull away and licked his lips. "Fuck, if I hadn't agreed... but anyway, now, if you try anything after we get out of this village, I'm able to easily kill you."

Sakura's eyes opened wide in horror. "Wh-what?"

"It's a power Jashin has given to his worshippers," he explained as he got to his feet, picking up the scythe that Sakura had not noticed he had put down behind himself. "But what's the fucking point of explaining to you? Hurry up if you want to leave here alive," he spoke as he turned and began to walk away.

Though her legs felt awkward and heavy beneath her, Sakura got to her feet and rushed after him, staying close to his side as even though she was afraid of him, he was offering her a way out and she somehow felt more afraid of the Jashin worshippers still out slaughtering village people.

"Shit, the Konoha ninjas are here now," he cursed under his breath before sweeping Sakura up into his arms and rushing out of the field.

Sakura could hear the shouts of the Konoha ninja from far behind them and wished that they would catch up to them to save her from the madman who held her now. Her head hurt too much from the events that night and from crying so much. Everything hurt.

Slowly, she closed her eyes and sleep found her in the arms of the Jashin worshipper.

She had never found out the name of the teenager who had saved her that night (though with rather sickening methods). He had left her sleeping in an inn of a village nearby Konoha and she had had to find her way back to her home village, numb from the events of the previous night, only sheer will driving her forward. Upon returning, she had found out that her mother had survived and was currently recuperating in the hospital. Her father however, had been slaughtered at the village and although she knew this already, she couldn't stop the fresh tears from pouring down her face.

...

It was on that date that a now 16 year old Sakura Haruno tied on her Konoha headband in front of her mirror, preparing for the new mission that her master, Tsunade, had put her team on. Team Yamato were to head out and support Team Asuma (headed by Kakashi) who were currently dealing with two Akatsuki members.

Quickly packing her ninja tools, Sakura hastily made her way out of the house, waving goodbye to her mother as she went, the memories of the horror-filled night six years ago pushed to the back of her mind as she preferred to forget about it, learning it was better to live her life without dwelling on those memories. It had been traumatising enough at the time and Sakura preferred it to remain in the past.

She raced to Team Yamato's meeting place where Yamato quickly filled them in on the mission before they headed off, racing against time to reach Team Asuma as they knew from experience that the Akatsuki were a dangerous group to fight with.

"Shit!" Hidan cursed, rubbing the side of his neck that had been sewn back on easily by his Akatsuki partner. "These guys are a pain, Kakuzu! What the hell is their problem cutting my head off like that?"

"What the..." Shikamaru stared at the pair, wide-eyed, unable to believe the sight before him.

They had cut off the silver-haired Akatsuki's head off and yet he was still alive and had had his head placed back on by the thread from his partner.

"Shikamaru!" shouted the unmistakable voice of Naruto as the back up Team Yamato landed beside the remaining members of Team Asuma and Kakashi.

"Shit, more piss brains!" Hidan grumbled loudly.

"Shut up, will you?" Kakuzu replied, irritated with his loud partner.

At the crude manner in which he spoke, Sakura's eyes fell on the silver-haired Akatsuki member, freezing her momentarily as she recognised him. The symbol of Jashin glinted on the chain around his neck. His crimson eyes that passed over her as he looked at the new arrivals. Although he had grown into an adult, there was no doubt in Sakura's mind who he was.

"Wh-who are they?" she found herself asking, attempting to prevent herself from showing her fear as memories of that night in the Hidden Village of Hot Springs returned to her.

Shikamaru glanced over at her and then returned his attention to the Akatsuki. "I assume their names are Hidan and Kakuzu; they've been calling each other by those names. It's to be expected of the Akatsuki but they're extremely powerful, so be careful!"

"Right!" Naruto said with a nod of his head.

Sakura stared at Hidan, clenching her fists. _Hidan... you're the one from six years ago!_

And without thinking, Sakura charged forward, drawing as much chakra as she could to her fist as she prepared to attack, Hidan turning to her, his expression somewhat amused.

"SAKURA!" Naruto and Shikamaru yelled, alarmed by her irrational thinking.

Hidan quickly sliced at Sakura with his scythe which she dodged narrowly before directing her punch at his face which he blocked by drawing back his scythe in time. The force of her punch on his scythe pushed him back a foot, his feet dragging along the dirt. He smirked. "Nice! Now," he swung his scythe about himself as he prepared himself to retaliate, "who the fuck are you?"

...

End of chapter one.

A/N: Erm, yes... I'm sorry if it's a bit rushed. (cough) I'm definitely going to put up the rating for this later if it continues on this way... D: I apologise for any spelling or grammatical errors... D: Well, anyway, please kindly leave a review!


	2. Remember

**The Scent of Blood**

A virgin's blood is an acquired taste. And Hidan had always had a morbid fascination for it.

A/N: I seriously need a BETA reader... Good golly, I updated! And for me nowadays, an update is a miracle! And erm… am too lazy to research the Japanese attack names… D: All I remember about Shikamaru's attack is "kage" for shadow and that's about it. D: La dee daa-! Well, here's to more crack-filled fun! Onto the chapter!

...

"Sakura! What on earth are you doing? Fall back!" Shikamaru yelled in alarm. When Sakura ignored him and instead began to draw more chakra to her clenched fist, preparing to launch another attack at the Akatsuki, he cursed, activating his shadow clone jutsu.

Hidan swiftly jumped, avoiding both Sakura's punch and the shadow stretching along the ground towards him. Grinning triumphantly and laughing at the younger shinobi, he swung his scythe out by the rope attached to the end of it.

"Sakura! Don't let him hit you!" shouted Shikamaru warningly, and Sakura was quick to obey, dodging the blades of Hidan's scythe as he swung it out past her.

_He's going to have to do better than that,_ Sakura thought smugly, smirking.

Hidan mirrored her smirk rather sadistically and yanked at the rope, and with alarm, Sakura realised that he had thrown the scythe out far behind her so that he could pull it back and successfully slice her.

And she had realised this too late.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto screamed, as his team mate attempted to dodge the scythe, an ink drawing of Sai's ninja art hurriedly pushing her out of the way, taking the hit.

Quick in his hand sign making, Yamato pressed his hands together as if in prayer, and wood shot out of the ground near the Akatsuki pair, who dodged the wood hastily before it could succeed in ensnaring them.

"Fucking annoying!" Hidan yelled in aggravation, throwing his scythe out by the rope high into the air, bringing it down on Yamato who swiftly dodged the blades that cut into the ground where the ANBU member had previously been standing in. The blades sunk in the earth, stuck.

Sensing someone in the air behind him, Hidan turned his head, eyes widening at the sight of Sakura, drawing her fist back as she drew chakra to strengthen her punch.

"What the fu—" was all Hidan managed to say as Sakura punched him in the face, sending him sprawling down to the earth. He crashed into the ground, Sakura landing gracefully on her feet a little away from him. "Seriously man," Hidan grumbled as he pushed himself back up. "_Who_ the fuck are you? And man, that fucking hurts!" he complained, rubbing his jaw as he stood. "Stings like a bitch man! Almost as bad as when that shadow idiot chopped my—hey!" He quickly dodged a few swings at him before pulling roughly at the rope attached to his scythe, successfully yanking it out of the ground. He dodged another punch.

"Stop messing around, Hidan," Kakuzu said, calm as he observed his partner, who continuously dodged the punches thrown at him, appearing as if he were dancing madly.

"Fucker!" Hidan yelled viciously at him, dodging another swing. "You think I'm messing around? Screw this!" Hidan growled in annoyance, yanking his scythe back, Sakura narrowly avoiding it.

She however, didn't manage to dodge the punch aimed at her stomach, and the moment that she was stunned by the blow, Hidan, with a wicked and triumphant grin, brought his scythe down across her left shoulder, cutting deeply, crimson blood splattering his face. A cry escaped from Sakura's lips as she stumbled backward, grabbing her shoulder and pressing down on the wound as she instantly began to heal it.

However, during that whole process, she hadn't noticed until then that Hidan had stopped moving, his eyes wide as he smelt the air and brought the scythe cautiously to his lips, licking the blood off of the blades.

His actions reminded Sakura of that night in the Hidden Village of Hot Springs once more, feeling sick to her stomach.

"Fuck…" Hidan breathed, smelling the air once more, inhaling deeply as if he were taking in an intoxicating fragrance. "Fuck…" he mumbled again, his eyes falling on the pink-haired, injured kunoichi before him with sudden recognition.

He could not mistake that insanely-scented blood.

"This is _not_ good!" Shikamaru announced through gritted teeth, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Don't let him get back to that symbol on the ground! Naruto! Sai! You cover the symbol!" he ordered, determined not to watch another person die as his sensei had.

However, the Jashin worshipper made no move to return to the symbol he had marked earlier on the ground, instead choosing to slowly approach the injured teen who immediately stepped back, shifting into an offensive stance, clenched fists drawn up.

"You…" he mumbled in amazement and disbelief, his crimson eyes seeming to reflect that night six years ago.

And for some reason, it gave Sakura satisfaction to be remembered before she knocked his head clear off, drawing chakra to her right fist as she clenched it, ignoring the searing pain in her left shoulder, still not completely healed.

Noticing this, the silver-haired Akatsuki member swore before swinging his scythe at her, cursing once more as she dodged it, poised to punch him as she approached quickly.

"Yo, Kakuzu!" he shouted, urgently.

With an annoyed grunt, the other Akatsuki member swiftly hardened his hand and ran forward, grabbing the bloodied blades of the scythe that now swung out haphazardly in his direction and yanking at it, pulling Hidan along with it, out of the way of the wounded Sakura.

"Keep him off the symbol!" Shikamaru ordered and Sai hastily drew more of his ninja art, backing up Naruto who charged ahead towards the Akatsuki, as he formed two shadow clones.

"Hurry up and finish this Hidan," Kakuzu insisted, impatient and annoyed, his hand returning to normal as he released his partner's scythe.

"What do you think I'm doing, idiot?" Hidan yelled, turning and launching himself at a surprised Sakura, who hurriedly drew her fist back to punch him, but was instead forced to duck as his scythe swung across, slicing the air where her head would've been.

She straightened up, fist about to be thrown at the silver-haired Akatsuki's face.

"Forgive me Jashin!" Hidan shouted and Sakura realised with horror that he had swung his scythe at an angle that allowed for it to swing around, the rope wrapping around her neck, her right hand instantly flying up to her throat as the rope slowly strangled her. "Kakuzu!" he yelled urgently.

Sakura heard several people call out her name and fought desperately to be loose of the rope, growling through gritted teeth as she forced her left hand up, her shoulder screaming from the pain, and grabbing the rope around her neck with both hands, summoning her strength to tear it apart.

But the hardened hand of Kakuzu's fell swiftly on the pressure point on the exposed part of her neck, just beneath the rope and Sakura could not fight the wave of darkness that swept over her, her eyes rolling back into her head as her knees buckled.

Hidan caught her in time, removing the rope from around her neck before he reached into his cloak and flung a handful of kunai at the remaining shocked Konoha shinobi.

"There are exploding notes attached to them! Oi, Tenzo!" Kakashi yelled, throwing an urgent look at Yamato.

"I've got it!" the ANBU member replied, clapping his hands together and instantly creating a wooden shell around the Konoha shinobi.

The sound of the kunai hitting the wood was followed by explosions and when sure that they were all gone, Yamato returned the wood to the earth.

Naruto was the first to notice. "Sa-Sakura-chan!" he called, eyes wide in horror. "The Akatsuki are gone! And they've taken Sakura-chan!"

...

Cold.

It was cold.

A shiver zipped down Sakura's spine.

Her muscles ached; her shoulder sore and still bleeding, twisted into an uncomfortable position, yet numb from the freezing temperature.

Knees trembling beneath her as she leaned heavily against the wall she was chained against for support, Sakura breathed harshly, the damp and cold air stinging her lungs as she struggled to keep conscious despite not having even opened her eyes yet.

She could hear voices nearby, but could not discern what they spoke of and her groggy mind begged for rest as her body, now feverish, signalled its need to battle off an infection that she could have prevented if she had enough chakra to heal the weeping wound in her shoulder.

If only she had enough strength to wrench her hands free of the chains and heal herself...

Drooping slightly against the wall, Sakura's breathing echoed about her as she gave in and as soon as she did so, sleep claimed her, washing her into a fitful and feverish sleep.

There was pain searing through her shoulder and through her body and a scream erupted from her mouth as someone repositioned her against the wall, the shackles and chains chinking and reverberating painfully inside her head as she continued to scream and flinch away from the hands of the person before her.

Beads of sweat trickled down her brow and she murmured feverishly, barely lucid as her body fought off the infection in her shoulder.

"Oi," called a distant voice as Sakura drifted in and out of conscious, murmuring that she wished to be left alone, "you're twisting your arm if you sleep that way, stop fighting me, fuck!"

Another scream echoed about the room as Sakura thrashed violently against the wall, yelling and shouting for the hands to stop touching her, that it was indecent, that she'd rather die than have him touch her.

The fever was speaking, and despite being well aware of this, the Akatsuki member in front of the young Konoha shinobi growled in aggravation before rising to his feet and exiting the cell, too annoyed to remain in there with the ill bubblegum-haired teen.

Shutting the cell door behind himself, Hidan glanced once more at the wounded and flushed Sakura before growling again in annoyance and turning on his heel, pacing quickly out of the room.

It had only been an hour or so and yet, the stranger was back again, Sakura's mind had registered that and she struggled against the chains to get away from this person, ignoring the protests in her left shoulder as she did so. She didn't like this person's touch, or the way they handled her so roughly. It was a horrifying familiarity and Sakura, conscious or not, was desperate to fight against it.

Cursing repeatedly, Hidan struggled to maintain hold of Sakura, damning her for being "so fucking feisty!"

"Look! I'm trying to apply some fucking ointment! Now give me a fucking break here!"

"I told you not to bring her here, Hidan," the cool tone of Kakuzu's voice cut in as he stood just outside of the open cell. "She'll die from the cold and the infection, which would be quite unfortunate. She would've had a large bounty on her head in the future."

"Oh fuck off, Kakuzu," Hidan grumbled, holding Sakura against the wall with one arm as he applied an ointment to her wounded shoulder with his free hand.

"You do realise that we do not have time for this Hidan," Kakuzu said, his cold gaze regarding Hidan's actions with disdain. "We're to look for the next Jinchuuriki and cannot remain here any longer, especially with the Konoha shinobi constantly searching for one of their own."

Mumbling a string of choice swear words under his breath, Hidan let go of Sakura and capped the ointment he had risked stealing from a nearby town, pocketing it as he stepped out of the cell, shutting the door behind himself with his foot. "You're a pain in the ass, Kakuzu," Hidan grumbled as he began to head out of the underground room, followed by a calm Kakuzu. As an afterthought, he added as he glanced darkly over at his money-orientated partner, "And don't even think of trying anything funny with her. She's _mine_."

Kakuzu raised a questioning brow. "The only thing about her that could be remotely interesting to me would be if she had a large sum on her head. But perhaps also," Kakuzu paused and Hidan stopped in his tracks, turning to face his Akatsuki partner, glaring as he dared the masked man to continue, "...her heart may fit nicely in my collection."

Quick as a flash, Hidan whipped out his scythe and Kakuzu hardened his hand in time to block the attack.

"Fuck off! She's a delicacy, not a part of your stock!" Hidan yelled, his voice resounding throughout the cell.

"And claiming her, just to drink her blood, is better than taking her heart out?" Kakuzu asked evenly, staring the foul-mouthed Akatsuki down.

There was a tense moment of silence where the two partners glared at one another before Hidan withdrew his weapon, mouth set into a irritated straight line.

"Che!" The sound left Hidan's mouth as he turned and stormed off, ignoring Kakuzu as he followed.

"The leader will not be pleased Hidan," Kakuzu commented, knowing what to expect as a reply from his short-tempered partner.

"To hell with him! I've caught my Jinchuuriki! It's you who should be worrying!"

"I was not referring to the Jinchuuriki."

"You know what, Kakuzu? Kiss my ass!"

To him, it did not matter how Kakuzu tried to reason, the girl with the insanely-scented blood was there to simply fulfil his desire, after all, a virgin's blood was an acquired taste and he had always had a morbid fascination for it. Now was not the time to let an opportunity such as this to slip by.

Grinning to himself, Hidan walked up the flight of stairs that led out of the underground holding cell and away from the sleeping Sakura.

...

Everyday the stranger would come to her cell and force her against the wall as he applied something cool to her shoulder, his loud and obnoxious voice echoing about her, ringing in her ears, throbbing inside her head until she felt like laying down and sobbing from the pain. It was a continuous pounding in her head, like the bashing of a bass drum, like her head was in place of that bass drum and being beat against mercilessly. Sometimes she could hear another voice rebounding off the cell walls but it was always lower and calmer than the one that belonged to the stranger who pinned her constantly against the wall.

She thrashed and screamed, her throat incessantly raw. When would the nightmare end? Every time she felt delirious, but mostly, there was the presence of pain and suffering. It burned and froze everywhere on her body.

Huddling, Sakura crawled into a defensive ball as she lay on the ground after the strangers had left, having been freed temporarily of her shackles, and shivered uncontrollably, the pain rendering her defenceless and perhaps insane.

There were voices again and Sakura clamped her hands over her ears, unable to scream from the echoing pain in her head because her throat was too sore from all the screaming she had done previously.

A cloak was sudden thrown carelessly onto her and she felt its strange warmth, as if someone had been wearing it previously. And then there were mumbled words and light, dusty feathers fell gently around her and it was the first time during her entire suffering that Sakura felt a moment of clarity.

That this was a genjutsu being cast on her, and that perhaps, the suffering would end.

The darkness and unconsciousness fell over her and Sakura, ceased to be conscious of the pain.

...

Days could've passed by and by the time Sakura had finally awoken fully from her fever, she could not recall any of the events that had occurred during her illness, nor could she understand the echoing ring that reverberated off the walls and ceiling of her cell.

The sound of dripping resounded throughout the cell that Sakura woke in, and she had woken in a not too comfortable position; her hands were shackled to the top of the wall, apart from each other, and her feet were shackled to a chain that led to the middle of the cell. Her arms felt sore from being held up in that position against the wall and she could slowly feel her right hand gradually become numb, wondering idly if she had injured herself through her excessive use of chakra drawn to that hand.

Not only that, but she still felt the burn of the scythe's rope on her neck and her head throbbed mercilessly as she continued to listen to the incessant dripping that rung throughout her cell, hoping that if they couldn't let her return some normal blood flow to the fingers of her right hand, they should at least be considerate enough to fix the leak in the ceiling.

But who was she kidding? They had even taken her shoes and gloves away. The removal of the pouch of ninja tools and her kunai was to be expected, but her shoes? And her feet were freezing, slowly numbing from the cold and damp cell floor that made her cringe when she imagined the slime she could see from the dim light that she had.

Her stomach gave a low rumble and she smiled bitterly at the pathetic sound of it in the situation she was in.

_Kidnapped by the Akatsuki, that certainly doesn't happen everyday_, she thought with a grim smile, taking in her surroundings, the small cell, bars closing her off from the door on the other side of the room.

The smile vanished as she strained her hands against the shackles as she had been doing for the past hour or so, her wrists soon to be rubbed raw against the iron with her struggles.

Sakura paused in her futile struggle, scanning the room once more, hoping to see something, anything that could help her escape.

She knew that she would not be able to draw enough chakra to rip the chains from the wall, as from her previous attempts in that hour, she realised that she did not have enough chakra to use and had concluded that the shackles that bound her hands and feet were made specially to drain chakra.

Not only that, but her shoulder was still deeply wounded and she only vaguely felt it because it was numbed from the stinging cold of the room, only feeling the searing pain if she moved her left arm too much.

Gritting her teeth, Sakura squinted in the dim light of the room, hoping that she could find something that would allow an opportunity for an escape.

But in this dim cell, it seemed hopeless and already Sakura felt waves of exhaustion sweep over her and a shiver passed through her as she bowed her head bitterly. She needed to find some way to unchain herself and contact Konoha and to do this she needed to think clearly, yet her head felt too clouded and heavy on her shoulders as she drifted slowly, uneasily out of consciousness.

...

It was that annoyingly loud voice that pulled her out of her sleep.

"Wake up bitch, it's time for breakfast!"

Sakura groaned, cringing at the loud voice, resonating throughout the cell, ringing in her ears as she forced her eyes open groggily, allowing them to slowly become accustomed to the dimly lit cell, the damp and rotting smell of the prison assaulting her nose.

Crimson eyes, silver hair and a grinning mouth, all belonging to the foul-mouthed Akatsuki member, appeared before her alarmed eyes.

"Well, well, so that ointment worked after all. Damn straight it should've. I applied it every fucking day, so be fucking appreciative," the man who's name she recalled to be Hidan spoke, foully enunciating his curses.

Still dishevelled and exhausted from having her chakra constantly drained and having just finished battling an infection and including the fact that she had not eaten for several days, left Sakura miserably weak and unable to completely comprehend her situation as she stared at Hidan dazed, her eyes flickering from his mouth, as if to see the words that they formed and understand them, to the Jashin necklace hanging around his neck.

Suddenly, the gears in Sakura's mind began to turn and she realised that there were no more shackles around her wrists; that the Akatsuki member had temporarily freed her so that she could eat, not knowing that she would instead use this opportunity of freedom for something else. Slowly, but surely, she clenched her right fist and then unclenched it, testing whether she were able to fight in her condition. She understood her situation now that she was completely awake and alert and felt that she had only enough chakra to send him flying once into the cell's metal bars. All she had to do now was summon chakra to her right fist subtly, without alerting the grinning silver-haired Akatsuki member crouching before her.

Without warning a loud growl filled the empty air of the room and Sakura instantly blushed, cursing her stomach for such timing, causing Hidan to throw back his head in laughter. Sakura's eyes widened that Hidan's reaction had made an opening for her and she clenched her fist quickly, drawing it back, sheer will and determination forcing her sore arm muscles up. _Now's my chance!_

Hidan returned his gaze to her, eyes narrowed and smirk in place. "Don't make me laugh," he said with that wicked smile of his, just as Sakura directed her punch at him. Swiftly, he leaned his head down against his right shoulder before seizing her arm with his left hand and her throat with his right, lifting her up and then driving her back to slam her body against the brick walls behind her, his stare menacing and sneer marring his face. "You think I brought you here for some fun, Haruno?" he asked roughly, tone cold as he glared at her, pinned against the wall, his hand tight against her throat.

Sakura began to choke, her hands flying to the one he used to grip her neck, strangling her. Abruptly, Hidan withdrew his hand and the kunoichi fell to her knees, spluttering as she held her hands to her throat, massaging it.

"You've been drained of too much chakra for you to even attempt to resist me, and also, you have no fucking fuel to drive you," Hidan explained mockingly, kneeling before Sakura as she continued to breathe harshly.

Sakura's eyes narrowed in anger. "Why don't you just sacrifice me then?" Sakura asked through gritted teeth.

Silence fell between them and they both stared at one another until Hidan reached out, his hand placed lightly, yet dangerously, around her throat. "When I sacrifice you, I will fucking sacrifice your virginity," he stated in a harsh matter-of-fact tone, watching in satisfaction as Sakura's eyes widened in horror at his words. "Consider yourself fucking lucky that I'd rather take your body than your life. Consider it lucky that the fucking smell of your blood is enticing enough for me to stay interested in keeping you alive," he said, his hand slowly tightening around her throat. He drew his face closer to hers, close enough that even the slightest breath fanned her face. "Consider yourself lucky, or else I would claim your body now while your defenceless and kill you."

His threatening words rang in Sakura's ears and bounced off of the damp dungeon walls. Her legs suddenly felt like lead beneath her. How would she get out of this alive? She could think of no way of her escaping this immortal man's clutches. He could easily kill her and she wouldn't be able to stop him.

The dilemma was that he could not be killed.

And this fact horrified Sakura, leaving her shaken as she stared back into the eyes of a madman, who only wanted her for her blood, for the scent and taste that she had no attraction to or understanding of.

_I... I can't do anything..._ were the thoughts that ran through her mind, induced by the fear from her current situation.

A sudden image of Konoha and her team mates flashed in her mind.

Sakura bit her lip. _No... there is something I can do..._ She clenched her fists, determined, her mind working logically and rationally once more. _I will not show fear. I must be strong and find a way __out! I will not allow him to toy with my mind!_ Boldly, she grabbed the wrist of the hand against her throat and threw it forcefully away from herself, her arm muscles screaming in protest from the strain, and yet, she kept a clenched jaw and determined expression.

"Do what you will, Hidan. But don't think I won't pay you with hell," Sakura said threateningly, fists clenched as if she were prepared to fight to her death.

Hidan's eyes were wide as he regarded her in surprise before he slowly smirked. "Damn, I knew you were feisty from the very start, as soon as you stomped on my face in that field."

Sakura mirrored his smirk. "I'm glad you remember that."

And without warning, Sakura punched Hidan square in the face with all the chakra she could muster, the muscles in her right arm reaching the limit, having not completely recovered from the strain and the draining of chakra. But that one hit had been enough to satisfy Sakura for now as she forced herself to stand on her legs that trembled due to the forced effort, grinning triumphantly as she stood over Hidan who pushed himself back up, cursing her.

"And I hope you remember that too. You're underestimating me," Sakura said coolly, the grinning never leaving her face as she stared at Hidan.

Suddenly, the world began to spin and Sakura's eyes rolled up into her head, her knees buckling before she fell forward, unable to keep herself up anymore having over-exerted herself.

Wiping away the blood from his broken nose and cursing her once more, Hidan moved forward swiftly and caught her before deciding that weakened or not, he had been underestimating the bubblegum-haired kunoichi.

Placing her shackles back on, he positioned her seated and leaning against the cell wall before getting up and leaving the cell, closing the door behind himself, grumbling moodily to himself as he cursed the "feisty bitch" for breaking his nose.

...

End of chapter two.

A/N: Yeah... um... hmm... yeah, please leave a review? (Don't know what else to say... wow, I actually did a chapter two for this story. I guess I should say, hoorah for crack. XD)


End file.
